Attraction waits years ago?

[Sbk1234]

Is there any source I can check just to see what the average wait times were in days past for attractions to compare with today (pre-Covid)? Like comparing the wait for Space Mountain in August 2019 with Space Mountain wait in August 1980 for instance? Just wondering.

 

[Figgy1]

Touring Plans may be your best bet. Paging @lentesta

 

[lentesta]

Touring Plans may be your best bet. Paging @lentesta

1980 might be a stretch. I think we have limited data that goes back to .... 2001?

Okay, Space Mountain's peak wait on 12/31/2001 was 120 minutes, between 2 pm and 3 pm.
The peak wait time on 12/31/2019 was ... 240 minutes (from 12:41 pm to 2:27 pm, and later from 4:22 to 5:13).

So the peak wait doubled in 18 years. That's interesting.

@Sbk1234 you can change the date and attraction in this URL to see past dates for which we have data: https://touringplans.com/magic-kingdom/attractions/space-mountain/wait-times/date/2019-12-31.

Let me know if a subscription is needed to see that - I'll hook you up: len@touringplans.com.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Don't forget that you can't just compare standby wait times to standby wait times during different FastPass regimes (Paper, Plus, or None).

If Standby is 40 minutes with no FastPass option, everyone is waiting 40 minutes. If Standby is 60 minutes but half the people are using FastPass and waiting only 10 minutes, then the average wait time is 35 minutes.

 

[lentesta]

Don't forget that you can't just compare standby wait times to standby wait times during different FastPass regimes (Paper, Plus, or None).

If Standby is 40 minutes with no FastPass option, everyone is waiting 40 minutes. If Standby is 60 minutes but half the people are using FastPass and waiting only 10 minutes, then the average wait time is 35 minutes.

Good point. There were probably other operational changes over those 20 years that affected wait times.

In this case, Space had FP in both 2001 and 2019.

 

[Figgy1]

Good point. There were probably other operational changes over those 20 years that affected wait times.

In this case, Space had FP in both 2001 and 2019.

It would be interesting to see the difference between legacy and fp+

 

[mikejs78]

Good point. There were probably other operational changes over those 20 years that affected wait times.

In this case, Space had FP in both 2001 and 2019.

@lentesta what was the difference in average wait time for space the year before FP+ vs the first year of FP+? I'm also curious as to what % of capacity was allocated to FP on the paper vs FP+ system...

Also, if I remember correctly, you once indicated somewhere that there was a year when wait times substantially increased after a round of layoffs (2016 perhaps?)

 

[rljackson]

Interesting topic. I would really like to understand why wait times has doubled. Couldn't be just overall attendance could it?

 

[lentesta]

@lentesta what was the difference in average wait time for space the year before FP+ vs the first year of FP+? I'm also curious as to what % of capacity was allocated to FP on the paper vs FP+ system...

Also, if I remember correctly, you once indicated somewhere that there was a year when wait times substantially increased after a round of layoffs (2016 perhaps?)

Here's the analysis we did on pre- and post-FP+ rollout wait times.

When the switch was made from FP to FP+, Space Mountain's standby wait went down by 11 minutes, with a 95% confidence interval of [-15.0, -7.1]. Note that this is the exact opposite of what Disney predicted would happen (but predictions are hard):

Yeah, wait times went up inexplicably in ... I think it was 2016? We ended up asking some of the industrial engineers what happened, and they said it was staffing adjustments.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Interesting topic. I would really like to understand why wait times has doubled. Couldn't be just overall attendance could it?

1. More people in the parks than ever before
2. Fastpass artificially inflates the standby lines

Before COVID, of course.

 

[John park hopper]

1977 if I remember correctly there were no wait times we walked right on.

 

[prattler]

1995 was the first year I went when not a child. It was a Saturday in June, and I distinctly remember the wait time for Space Mountain being 120 minutes. Contrast that with September 2003, my dad and I walked onto Splash Mountain back-to-back-to-back. Of course, that was post 9/11. I know those are kind of random dates to pull, but there you go.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Going off memory. Space was anywhere between 45-60 minutes back in the mid-80's. Of course, rope drop and later in the evening were less. Jungle Cruise I remember being about 30 minutes on average.

 

[Bcakd]

Do you guys think fastpass will return soon...or ever?

 

[CastAStone]

Do you guys think fastpass will return soon...or ever?

Define FastPass. Also, ever is a VERY long time.

Are you asking if FastPass+ will return in its 2019 format?

 

[Vtlsgns2]

1980 might be a stretch. I think we have limited data that goes back to .... 2001?

Okay, Space Mountain's peak wait on 12/31/2001 was 120 minutes, between 2 pm and 3 pm.
The peak wait time on 12/31/2019 was ... 240 minutes (from 12:41 pm to 2:27 pm, and later from 4:22 to 5:13).

So the peak wait doubled in 18 years. That's interesting.

@Sbk1234 you can change the date and attraction in this URL to see past dates for which we have data: https://touringplans.com/magic-kingdom/attractions/space-mountain/wait-times/date/2019-12-31.

Let me know if a subscription is needed to see that - I'll hook you up: len@touringplans.com.

12/31/2001 was about 3.5 months post-9/11...that may have been a factor at that specific time, but wait times sure have increased quite a bit in the years since we became AP holders in 2007.

 

[lentesta]

Nobody wants to scour home movies on YouTube for fleeting glimpses of the Space Mountain wait time sign?